Lusaka  - The body of late president Levy Mwanawasa will arrive back in Zambia on Sunday, the secretary to the cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja announced in a statement Wednesday.

The state funeral will be held at Lusaka show grounds, Kanganja said, and urged all Zambians of goodwill to show their last respects.

Mwanawasa died Tuesday at the age of 59 in a Paris hospital where he had been receiving treatment following a stroke earlier this year.

Some family members are believed to have demanded that Mwanawasa be buried at his Teka Farm in the Masaiti district on the Copperbelt.

Mourners have been advised not to travel to Lusaka but to wait for final details from the cabinet office for the funeral arrangements in consultation with the family of the late president.

All sporting activities have been either cancelled or rescheduled until after the burial which is expected to take place on either Monday or Tuesday next week. Business meetings, and state and private seminars have also been postponed. (dpa)